Three Presidents Descend On Pennsylvania On An Important Day For One Of The Nation S Most Closely Watched Senate Races

  Three presidents – one sitting and two former – descend on Pennsylvania on Saturday for a final midterm push that underscores the stakes in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.   

  For President Joe Biden, who will make a rare joint appearance with former President Barack Obama in Philadelphia to boost Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate John Fetterman, Pennsylvania will amount to a political stress test in his home state, where he has traveled 20 times.  since assuming his duties.   

  For former President Donald Trump, who is rallying outside Pittsburgh in the town of Latrobe, a victory by his chosen candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz could prove his continued viability in a commonwealth he narrowly lost in 2020.   

  The implications extend far beyond next week’s election.  As Trump prepares to announce a third presidential bid, possibly in the coming weeks, Biden aides are taking their own initial steps toward launching a re-election campaign.  For several hours Saturday afternoon, the dynamics of a potential 2020 rematch will unfold.   

  The moment marks a historic anomaly.  Former presidents have typically ventured sparingly into day-to-day politics, mostly avoiding direct criticism of the men who once held the office.  Not since Grover Cleveland in 1892 has a defeated one-term president returned to win the White House again.   

  The presidents’ convergence in Pennsylvania, each warning of dire consequences if the opponent prevails, reflects the altered norms Trump imposed when he took office nearly six years ago, quickly issuing trumped-up charges against Obama of espionage and general abuse.   

  Biden, who spent much of his first year in office trying to avoid saying Trump’s name, is no longer so cautious.  He chanted “Trump and all his Trumpies” at a rally in California this week and identified Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis as “Trump incarnate” during a fundraiser outside Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.  At his own rallies, Trump plays a video of swipes to give his successor a gaffe-prone senior citizen — though he hasn’t followed Obama as often.   

  Obama, meanwhile, has leveled his harshest criticism at the cast of Trump-backed candidates, many of whom are in denial about the results of the 2020 election and have modeled themselves after the 45th president.   

  “It doesn’t come out just because someone has been on TV.  It turns out that being president or governor is about more than fine lines and good lighting,” Obama said in Arizona last week of Republican gubernatorial candidate Cary Lake, a former local news anchor.   

  The Senate and Governor races in Pennsylvania are the only races of this year’s midterm cycle in which Biden has repeatedly stumbled.  In other high-profile races, the candidates kept their distance from a president with underwater approval ratings.   

  That’s not the case for Obama, who has been in high demand among Democrats in close races.  In the final weeks of the campaign, Obama held spirited rallies in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada — all states that Biden has avoided in recent months as the candidates work to fend off Republican momentum.   

  That’s a 180-degree turn from the midterms during the Obama presidency, when Biden campaigned in more states — including conservative-leaning ones — where the incumbent was seen as a drag on Democratic candidates.   

  Biden is hardly annoyed or even surprised that Obama is more evenly matched on the campaign trail this year than he is, officials say.  He has discussed some of the races with his former boss and believes Obama’s message resonates with voters and complements his own.   

  But their appearance together Saturday will only serve to underscore their different styles and political skills — a comparison that even some Democrats say ultimately favors Obama.   

  “I know you always ask me how we’re doing.  This time I think we will win.  I feel very good about our chances,” Biden told reporters Friday in California.   

  The President was bullish on Democrats’ chances next week, even as many Democrats grow increasingly concerned about their party’s prospects.  His campaign agenda — in blue states that are fielding candidates in closer-than-expected races — is itself a sign of Democratic vulnerability.   

  In the final days of the campaign, Biden has been traveling mostly to blue states he won, but where Democrats, however, are running closer than expected.  He made stops in New Mexico, California and Illinois before heading to Pennsylvania on Saturday and campaigning with embattled New York Gov. Kathy Hotchul on Sunday.  He will spend the eve of the Maryland election.   

  People familiar with Biden’s thinking say he accepts that not every Democratic candidate will welcome him as a surrogate while his approval ratings remain underwater.  And he has told his fellow Democrats that he respects their political intuition when it comes to their own races.   

  But he has been frustrated by coverage suggesting he is a political albatross, according to people familiar with the discussions, arguing that his policies – when properly explained – are widely popular with voters.   

  Compared to Obama and Trump, Biden held far fewer campaign rallies for his party during this midterm cycle.  Most of his engagements in the past month have been formal events, delivered to crowds that sometimes number only a few dozen.   

  His rallies began to draw larger crowds in the waning days of the campaign.  Six hundred people had to be evacuated from an event in Southern California on Friday, according to the White House.  And Biden was addressing an overflow crowd in New Mexico that couldn’t fit inside the main venue when he held a rally with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.   

  “I know you don’t think so, but I think we have pretty good crowds.  They are quite enthusiastic.  You don’t spell it that way, but it is,” Biden said as he departed California on Friday.   

  However, his events have not generated the same electricity as Obama’s.  The former president has lambasted Trump and his fellow office-bearers during his series of rallies across the country in recent weeks, using wry humor and an air of irony to poke fun at Republicans.   

  Like Biden, he also argued that the US system of government is at stake in next week’s election, telling a crowd in Arizona that “democracy as we know it” could be lost if election naysayers take office.   

  Obama and Biden last appeared together at the White House in September, when Obama’s official portrait was unveiled in the East Room of the White House.  The event had been postponed while Trump was in office, in part because neither the Obamas nor the Trumps were interested in making a show of friendship.   

  As he campaigns for his candidates’ supporters this fall, Trump has made little effort to hide his larger intentions: to shore up his own potential presidential campaign that he hopes will return him to the White House.   

  “Get ready, that’s all I’m saying,” Trump told a crowd in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, adding that he would “very, very likely do it again.”   

  Top Trump aides have discussed the third week of November as the ideal launch point for his 2024 presidential campaign if Republicans do well in the midterm elections, sources familiar with the matter said.   

  For Biden, the decision may take a little longer.  He has pointed to family discussions around the holidays when asked about his own schedule.  Members of his political team have made early preparations for a campaign infrastructure, operating under the assumption that he will decide to run again.   

  His driving factor, aides say: Either Trump jumps in.   

title: “Three Presidents Descend On Pennsylvania On An Important Day For One Of The Nation S Most Closely Watched Senate Races " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Felix Sharpe”

  Three presidents – one sitting and two former – descend on Pennsylvania on Saturday for a final midterm push that underscores the stakes in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.   

  For President Joe Biden, who will make a rare joint appearance with former President Barack Obama in Philadelphia to boost Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate John Fetterman, Pennsylvania will amount to a political stress test in his home state, where he has traveled 20 times.  since assuming his duties.   

  For former President Donald Trump, who is rallying outside Pittsburgh in the town of Latrobe, a victory by his chosen candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz could prove his continued viability in a commonwealth he narrowly lost in 2020.   

  The implications extend far beyond next week’s election.  As Trump prepares to announce a third presidential bid, possibly in the coming weeks, Biden aides are taking their own initial steps toward launching a re-election campaign.  For several hours Saturday afternoon, the dynamics of a potential 2020 rematch will unfold.   

  The moment marks a historic anomaly.  Former presidents have typically ventured sparingly into day-to-day politics, mostly avoiding direct criticism of the men who once held the office.  Not since Grover Cleveland in 1892 has a defeated one-term president returned to win the White House again.   

  The presidents’ convergence in Pennsylvania, each warning of dire consequences if the opponent prevails, reflects the altered norms Trump imposed when he took office nearly six years ago, quickly issuing trumped-up charges against Obama of espionage and general abuse.   

  Biden, who spent much of his first year in office trying to avoid saying Trump’s name, is no longer so cautious.  He chanted “Trump and all his Trumpies” at a rally in California this week and identified Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis as “Trump incarnate” during a fundraiser outside Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday.  At his own rallies, Trump plays a video of swipes to give his successor a gaffe-prone senior citizen — though he hasn’t followed Obama as often.   

  Obama, meanwhile, has leveled his harshest criticism at the cast of Trump-backed candidates, many of whom are in denial about the results of the 2020 election and have modeled themselves after the 45th president.   

  “It doesn’t come out just because someone has been on TV.  It turns out that being president or governor is about more than fine lines and good lighting,” Obama said in Arizona last week of Republican gubernatorial candidate Cary Lake, a former local news anchor.   

  The Senate and Governor races in Pennsylvania are the only races of this year’s midterm cycle in which Biden has repeatedly stumbled.  In other high-profile races, the candidates kept their distance from a president with underwater approval ratings.   

  That’s not the case for Obama, who has been in high demand among Democrats in close races.  In the final weeks of the campaign, Obama held spirited rallies in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada — all states that Biden has avoided in recent months as the candidates work to fend off Republican momentum.   

  That’s a 180-degree turn from the midterms during the Obama presidency, when Biden campaigned in more states — including conservative-leaning ones — where the incumbent was seen as a drag on Democratic candidates.   

  Biden is hardly annoyed or even surprised that Obama is more evenly matched on the campaign trail this year than he is, officials say.  He has discussed some of the races with his former boss and believes Obama’s message resonates with voters and complements his own.   

  But their appearance together Saturday will only serve to underscore their different styles and political skills — a comparison that even some Democrats say ultimately favors Obama.   

  “I know you always ask me how we’re doing.  This time I think we will win.  I feel very good about our chances,” Biden told reporters Friday in California.   

  The President was bullish on Democrats’ chances next week, even as many Democrats grow increasingly concerned about their party’s prospects.  His campaign agenda — in blue states that are fielding candidates in closer-than-expected races — is itself a sign of Democratic vulnerability.   

  In the final days of the campaign, Biden has been traveling mostly to blue states he won, but where Democrats, however, are running closer than expected.  He made stops in New Mexico, California and Illinois before heading to Pennsylvania on Saturday and campaigning with embattled New York Gov. Kathy Hotchul on Sunday.  He will spend the eve of the Maryland election.   

  People familiar with Biden’s thinking say he accepts that not every Democratic candidate will welcome him as a surrogate while his approval ratings remain underwater.  And he has told his fellow Democrats that he respects their political intuition when it comes to their own races.   

  But he has been frustrated by coverage suggesting he is a political albatross, according to people familiar with the discussions, arguing that his policies – when properly explained – are widely popular with voters.   

  Compared to Obama and Trump, Biden held far fewer campaign rallies for his party during this midterm cycle.  Most of his engagements in the past month have been formal events, delivered to crowds that sometimes number only a few dozen.   

  His rallies began to draw larger crowds in the waning days of the campaign.  Six hundred people had to be evacuated from an event in Southern California on Friday, according to the White House.  And Biden was addressing an overflow crowd in New Mexico that couldn’t fit inside the main venue when he held a rally with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.   

  “I know you don’t think so, but I think we have pretty good crowds.  They are quite enthusiastic.  You don’t spell it that way, but it is,” Biden said as he departed California on Friday.   

  However, his events have not generated the same electricity as Obama’s.  The former president has lambasted Trump and his fellow office-bearers during his series of rallies across the country in recent weeks, using wry humor and an air of irony to poke fun at Republicans.   

  Like Biden, he also argued that the US system of government is at stake in next week’s election, telling a crowd in Arizona that “democracy as we know it” could be lost if election naysayers take office.   

  Obama and Biden last appeared together at the White House in September, when Obama’s official portrait was unveiled in the East Room of the White House.  The event had been postponed while Trump was in office, in part because neither the Obamas nor the Trumps were interested in making a show of friendship.   

  As he campaigns for his candidates’ supporters this fall, Trump has made little effort to hide his larger intentions: to shore up his own potential presidential campaign that he hopes will return him to the White House.   

  “Get ready, that’s all I’m saying,” Trump told a crowd in Sioux City, Iowa, on Thursday, adding that he would “very, very likely do it again.”   

  Top Trump aides have discussed the third week of November as the ideal launch point for his 2024 presidential campaign if Republicans do well in the midterm elections, sources familiar with the matter said.   

  For Biden, the decision may take a little longer.  He has pointed to family discussions around the holidays when asked about his own schedule.  Members of his political team have made early preparations for a campaign infrastructure, operating under the assumption that he will decide to run again.   

  His driving factor, aides say: Either Trump jumps in.